Epilepsy in patients with focal cortical dysplasia may be associated with autism spectrum disorder.

Introduction: Patients with epilepsy associated with focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) may be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare surgically treated patients with epilepsy secondary to FCD and normal volunteers without epilepsy and to review the neuropathological findings of patients with FCD.

Methods: This study involved 38 patients with medically intractable focal onset epileptic seizures who underwent epilepsy surgery (Group 1).

Speech Analysis Using Artificial Intelligence as a Peri-Operative Evaluation: A Case Report of a Patient with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Secondary to Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Who Underwent Epilepsy Surgery.

Background: Improved conversational fluency is sometimes identified postoperatively in patients with epilepsy, but improvements can be difficult to assess using tests such as the intelligence quotient (IQ) test. Evaluation of pre- and postoperative differences might be considered subjective at present because of the lack of objective criteria. Artificial intelligence (AI) could possibly be used to make the evaluations more objective.

Relationship Between Optical Coherence Tomography Parameter and Visual Function in Eyes With Epiretinal Membrane.

Purpose: To investigate the associations between visual function and the optical coherence tomography (OCT) parameters in eyes with idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM).

Methods: Thirty-nine consecutive eyes with ERM were enrolled. In addition to OCT parameters, such as central retinal thickness (CRT), the area of gap between the ERM and the retinal surface (SUKIMA) was newly defined and calculated from the vertical and horizontal OCT images (SUKIMAv and SUKIMAh).

Effects of exercise in patients with connective tissue disease receiving high-dose glucocorticoids: A pilot prospective cohort study.

Purpose: High doses of glucocorticoids induce skeletal muscle weakness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of exercise therapy on skeletal muscle strength, mass, and exercise capacity in patients with connective tissue disease treated with high doses of glucocorticoids.

Methods: This prospective, observational, single-center, cohort study included 35 patients aged ≥ 15 years diagnosed with connective tissue disease who received high-dose glucocorticoids and physical training.

Retinal vessel shift and its association with axial length elongation in a prospective observation in Japanese junior high school students.

Purpose: To investigate retinal vessel shift (RVS) and its association with axial length (AL) elongation in junior high school students.

Methods: Total 161 eyes of 161 healthy junior high school students were prospectively studied. Optical AL and anterior chamber depth (ACD) measurements, and fundus photography were performed in the first and third grades.

Long-Term Follow-Up After Successful Trabeculectomy: A Case Report of Reversal of Cupping and Recovery of Visual Field Progression.

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, and reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) is the only available evidence-based treatment that reduces visual field deterioration in glaucoma. We present a representative case of structural recovery and recovery of visual field progression after successful trabeculectomy (TLE) with long-term follow-up. A 35-year-old woman with glaucoma visited our hospital in 2008.

Association of Near-Infrared and Short-Wavelength Autofluorescence With the Retinal Sensitivity in Eyes With Resolved Central Serous Chorioretinopathy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the results of near-infrared autofluorescence (NIRAF) and short-wavelength autofluorescence (SWAF) imaging of eyes with resolved central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) and to assess the retinal sensitivity (RS) in areas with abnormal autofluorescence (AF) using white-on-white (WW) and blue-on-yellow (BY) perimetries.

Methods: We examined 20 consecutive eyes with resolved CSC. We calculated the areas of abnormal AF detected by SWAF and NIRAF imaging as SWAF_area and NIRAF_area, respectively, and the number of measurement points within and outside abnormal SWAF and NIRAF regions were counted.

Correlation between choroidal structure and smoking in eyes with central serous chorioretinopathy.

Purpose: A smoking habit can cause various health problems encompassing retinal diseases including central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of smoking on the choroidal structure in patients with CSC.

Methods: The choroidal vascular index (CVI) was calculated using the binarized OCT images.

High-throughput identification and determination of aminoglycoside antibiotics in human plasma using UPLC-Q-ToF-MS.

Aminoglycosides are a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics with several clinical uses. Owing to the ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity of aminoglycosides, therapeutic drug monitoring is required. This study aimed to devise a high-throughput method for identification and quantitative determination of aminoglycoside antibiotics in human plasma samples using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-ToF-MS).

Streptococcus mutans induces IgA nephropathy-like glomerulonephritis in rats with severe dental caries.

The mechanisms underlying immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN), the most common chronic form of primary glomerulonephritis, remain poorly understood. Streptococcus mutans, a Gram-positive facultatively anaerobic oral bacterium, is a common cause of dental caries. In previous studies, S.

Macular irregularities of optical coherence tomographic vertical cross sectional images in school age children.

The purpose of this study was to compare the incidences of macular irregularities of elementary school (ES) and junior high school (JHS) students. This was a prospective cross-sectional observational study of 122 right eyes of 122 ES students (8-9 years) and 173 right eyes of 173 JHS students (12-13 years). Vertical cross-sectional images of the macula were obtained by optical coherence tomography.

Investigating the clinical usefulness of definitions of progression with 10-2 visual field.

Background/aim: To investigate the clinical validity of the Guided Progression Analysis definition (GPAD) and cluster-based definition (CBD) with the Humphrey Field Analyzer 10-2 test in diagnosing glaucomatous visual field (VF) progression, and to introduce a novel definition with optimised specificity by combining the 'any-location' and 'cluster-based' approaches (hybrid definition).

Methods: 64 400 stable glaucomatous VFs were simulated from 664 pairs of 10-2 tests (10 sets × 10 VF series × 664 eyes; data set 1). Using these simulated VFs, the specificity to detect progression and the effects of changing the parameters (number of test locations or consecutive VF tests, and percentile cut-off values) were investigated.

Assessment of the choroidal structure in pregnant women in the first trimester.

We investigated the anatomical differences in the choroidal structure between pregnant women in the first trimester of pregnancy and age-matched healthy nonpregnant women using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) and choroidal binarization analysis. The main parameters measured in the two study groups, namely, pregnant women in the first trimester and healthy nonpregnant women, were choroidal thickness and the choroidal luminal area. Binarization of the EDI-OCT images from each patient was performed, and the choroidal vascularity index (CVI) was calculated.

Nonleisure-Time Physical Activity Guidance Following Minor Ischemic Stroke: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

The purpose of this single-masked randomized clinical trial was to examine whether nonleisure-time physical activity guidance (NLTPAG) improves physical activity levels in patients after minor ischemic stroke. Patients who had been hospitalized for minor ischemic stroke in an acute care hospital (National Health Institute Stroke Scale ≤ 5) were randomized to either an NLTPAG group (n = 17) or a leisure-time physical activity guidance group (n = 16). NLTPAG focused on reducing sedentary behavior and increasing the frequency of walking for shopping and household activities to improve physical activity levels in daily life.

Developing a nursing protocol for the remote verification of an expected death.

Background: Homecare nurses play an important role in end-of-life care. A protocol is needed for the remote verification of expected deaths using information and communication technologies (ICT), that is consistent with Japanese guidelines.

Aim: To clarify the processes that nurses use to verify deaths and to develop a tentative nursing protocol for verifying expected deaths, using home-based ICT.

Predicting intraocular pressure using systemic variables or fundus photography with deep learning in a health examination cohort.

The purpose of the current study was to predict intraocular pressure (IOP) using color fundus photography with a deep learning (DL) model, or, systemic variables with a multivariate linear regression model (MLM), along with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression (LASSO), support vector machine (SVM), and Random Forest: (RF). Training dataset included 3883 examinations from 3883 eyes of 1945 subjects and testing dataset 289 examinations from 289 eyes from 146 subjects. With the training dataset, MLM was constructed to predict IOP using 35 systemic variables and 25 blood measurements.

Muscle Thickness of Anterior Mid-Thigh in Hospitalized Patients: Comparison of Supine and Standing Postures.

Objectives: To compare the magnitude changes in muscle thickness (MTH) of the anterior mid-thigh between the supine and standing postures.

Design: Experimental.

Setting: University hospital laboratory.

Predicting a target exercise heart rate that reflects the anaerobic threshold in nonbeta-blocked hemodialysis patients: The Karvonen and heart rate reserve formulas.

The aim of this study was to evaluate constants of the Karvonen (k) and heart rate reserve (HRR) (α) formulas that correspond to the anaerobic threshold (AT) to conveniently estimate the intensity of exercise therapy in nonbeta-blocked patients undergoing hemodialysis. Twenty-three patients undergoing hemodialysis performed cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) and their HR at AT was measured. The predictor coefficients for a target HR corresponding to AT were calculated for each patient based on CPX.

Correlation between fundus autofluorescence and visual function in patients with cone-rod dystrophy.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between autofluorescence (AF) signal measured with ultra-wide field imaging and visual functions in patients with cone-rod dystrophy (CORD). A retrospective chart review was performed for CORD patients. We performed the visual field test and fundus autofluorescence (FAF) measurement and visualized retinal structures with optical coherence tomography (OCT) on the same day.

Aqueous autotaxin and TGF-βs are promising diagnostic biomarkers for distinguishing open-angle glaucoma subtypes.

The purpose of this study is to examine if aqueous autotaxin (ATX) and TGF-β levels could be used for differentiating glaucoma subtypes. This prospective observational study was performed using aqueous humor samples obtained from 281 consecutive patients. Open angle glaucoma patients were classified into three groups: primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), secondary open-angle glaucoma (SOAG), and exfoliation glaucoma (XFG).

Validating the usefulness of sectorwise regression of visual field in the central 10°.

Aim: To evaluate the usefulness of the application of the clustering method to the trend analysis (sectorwise regression) in comparison with the pointwise linear regression (PLR).

Methods: This study included 153 eyes of 101 patients with open-angle glaucoma. With PLR, the total deviation (TD) values of the 10th visual field (VF) were predicted using the shorter VF sequences (from first 3 to 9) by extrapolating TD values against time in a pointwise manner.

Effective Combined Assessments of Weight Bearing Ratio and Four Square Step Test in Predicting Falls in Discharged Stroke Patients.

Background: We aimed to determine whether combined assessments of single movement tasks could predict falls in community dwelling people with stroke and it was more precision than the berg balance Scale consists of 14 movements.

Methods: This prospective cohort study performed at five rehabilitation hospitals in Japan. Participants comprised 78 patients with ambulatory stroke.